Protective Styles and Traction Alopecia

[HolyGhostGirl]

Hey there ladies,

I need your help and assistance! I want to wear more protective styles and things of the like but I have traction alopecia from childhood resulting in very thin (almost non existant) sides. Since joining LHCF they are slowly growing in (long in some spots and peach fuzz-ish in others) So my question is, with this condition, what can I do to give my hair a break and stretch longer than 8 weeks? I'm scared that braids will take out any type of progress I have made with growing my edges back, if I wear a phony pony I have to wear a scarf or head band to cover up my sides (tired of doing that), and wearing a half wig poses the same side exposing problem (for the most part) as wearing a phony pony, and finally I've never worn a wig in my life so I have no idea where to start on that....UGH!!!! Help me ladies....I've been making do with what I can but I'm getting bored with the same styles everyday or just wearing my hair down. Sorry this is so long but thanks for the help in advance!

 

[msa]

I wore half-wigs for several months and I didn't even try to blend my hair, just wore a silk headband (just a piece of silk material) on the front. As long as I didn't tie it too tight, my edges were fine. It was a great protective style and I retained all my length while wearing them.

You can also try a side part and bangs...if you comb your hair down and over the edges that will help to hide them. And then you can put it in a bun as a protective style.

 

[tada1]

dont dont dont DO NOT put braids on any part of your hair that is just recovering from traction alopecia! Sorry to be so dramatic, but I recently allowed someone to put braids into a spot on my head that is genetically predisposed to alopecia and it aint pretty! The hair is filling in pretty nicely thanks to MT, but I wish I didnt let her do it in the first place.

If you want to take a break from your usual style, perhaps you can buy a realistic wig from a BSS or online. You can do a search, lots of ladies on here are wigging it up all winter. Wigs do take some getting used to, so if you give up trying to wear it after one or two tries, you'll feel like you just wasted your money.

You can also consider a snood. Just do a center part to hide your edges and wear a nice snood on the rest of your hair. If you're a baggy-er, you can even baggy the rest of your hair.

Personally, I like using Lilly of the Desert Aloe vera gel to smooth my edges down when I wear pony tails and such. That way, they are not flying all over the place and they are not pulled tight.

Gluck!

 

[dakotablu]

how about getting a full sew in...a cleopatra bob style. the edges won't be sewed since its a bob style and you can treat it while wearing the weave...the problem I have with wigs is it rubs on the sides of your head causing friction..although I love wigs just can't get it right me edges always suffer as well as the top from the comb...HTH